Tread Threads Search and State Riding Jacket Review

Greetings fellow Fat-Bikers, I hope you have been enjoying the summer heat. In Minneapolis it’s been a fun combination of suffocating heat and glorious light shows brought to us by some pretty crazy summer thunderstorms. What better time to test out a rain jacket, right?

Seeing as it’s summer and whatnot, having a jacket that doesn’t feel gross and clammy next-to skin is pretty important, and if you recall my first look I chose the XS which is a pretty roadie cut and has been great in preventing that awful “flappy” noise when zooming around. I am happy to report that the SAS Riding jacket feels really nice on bare skin, and you can tell that this is a luxury jacket the moment you slip it on. I couldn’t beleive it was such a soft rain jacket! It also has some nice stretch to it which is important if you’re buying a body-sheath like I did, and size up if you’re wanting to add more layers come winter time, as I can already tell this will make an excellent winter shell.

As we all know, breathability is KEY when you’re exerting yourself in a rain coat and I feel like too many of us are familiar with the sensation of having rain dump on you, meanwhile creating your own personal sauna within your rain coat; it’s a lose-lose generally. I am happy to say that when I’m wearing technical fabrics, as the under-lycras wick away to the SAS jacket and I stayed a very comfortable temperature when the rain cooled everything off. I will mention that I managed to dampen up my cotton t-shirt on a day I was commuting post rainstorm, but I’m going to blame that on the fact that cotton is one of those fabrics that absorbs sweat like a sponge and not knock any points off of the SAS because that was totally a choice I made. We are all learning here friends.

On the outside of this baby water beads up and rolls off real nicely and although they told me this is not a monsoon-worthy jacket, I have not sprung any leaks after some pretty intense downpours. Seattle, this one may not be for you per-se what with your weather, but for midwest climates this jacket has handled all of the precipitation that’s been thrown at it so far this past rainy season and I trust it. That’s a good feeling.

One of the things I love about this jacket is that it has one HUGE pocket, which has been great for sunglasses storage, my beloved snacks, and other goodies. I didn’t really miss side hand pockets or anything like that because the back pocket was pretty ample.

Another plus is storability. I took this puppy with me pretty much everywhere and didn’t even notice it. It came with me on the boat on the big lake super early on a chilly morning over the 4th of July, it was stuffed in my purse everywhere I went (disclaimer, I kept it in the separate front pocket free from any stabby pens and whatnot), and it rolls up nice to fit into a jersey pocket. I love portability y’all.

Last but not least, this is a pretty classy looking jacket. I am zero percent embarrassed to be wearing such a techy jacket off the bike because it looks slick as hell. Well done SAS, you get 5 out of 5 crispy bacons, my highest rating to date for a truly exceptional jacket.

For more of Search and State’s awesome gear, or to pick up a jacket of your own, head over to their website for more goodies.

About giantmendez

Natalia "Giant Mendez" though short in stature is large in personality and opinion.
Apparel addict, merino wool aficionado.
Ex-bike messenger and bike shop manager who loves playing in the mud and snow, now spends her days making it easier to park your bike via the Dero Bike Rack Company.
When not riding can be found cooking and petting cats.

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